Twists and Turns in Time
by Sabrina Lonewalker
Summary: A call from UNIT brings the Fourth Doctor back and he is confronted with a very strange occurrence Something or someone is removing his companions from time and space. He soon learns that not only are his past companions disappearing, so are future ones, forcing him to cross timelines to find out why.
1. Chapter 1

Twists and Turns in Time  
Part One  
by  
Sabrina Lonewalker

It started like any other adventure in the Doctor's long existence, with an urgent call from UNIT. This was the Doctor's fourth incarnation and he was between companions. He had left Sarah jane Smith back on Earth before going home to Gallifrey to answer a summons. That had turned out to involve his old enemy, the Master. Now that he was defeated, again, the Doctor was travelling alone in the vortex. He had been standing staring at the control console as the time rotor moved up and down when the recall light fome UNIT flashed on the third panel. He heaved a deep sigh and set the coordinates to return. Truth be told, he missed Earth. True, the Time Lords had stranded him there after his trial when they forced him to regenerate into his third self but, he had discovered he liked these humans. They had great potential, he could see that. He looked at the flight tracker and smiled, he was almost there.

In the Doctor's lab at UNIT HQ, Brigadier Alastair Gorgon Lethbridge-Stewart was pacing. This had never happened before and he knew that UNIT could not solve this alone. He just hoped the Doctor would come. He shook his head, "Fool," he thought to himself, "He's never failed to come before." Just then, a familiar wheezing and groaning sound was heard mfaintly but then grew louder and louder until a battered blue police call box materialized in the corner with a loud "Thump!" The Brigadier was holding his breath until the door opened and the Doctor stepped out. He still wore the bohemian clothing he had worn after regeneration and that impossibly long scarf and battered felt hat.

The Doctor tunred to the Brigadier and started to say hello when he saw the look on his friends face. "Alastair?" He asked, his voice filled with concern, "What is it, why have you recalled me?" The Brigadier leaned back against a table. "Doctor, something has happened that we cannot explain or understand and it directly concerns you." The Doctor's blue eyes opened very wide, "Me? How does it concern me?" Alastair looked at him. "In the past 72 hours, three of your previous companions have literally vanished. I, myself, witnessed one of the disappearances. The other two disappearances have also been witnessed and the press is all over it."

The Doctor sat on the edge of the lab bench in there and simply nodded, waiting for more. The Brigadier took a deep breath and let it out slowly, "The first disappearance happened just about 72 hours ago. She was holding a press conference in West Angolia about a new enviromental initiative when she simply vanished into thin air." The Doctor came to his feet, his mouth suddenly dry, "Jo?" he hasked in a hoarse whisper?" The Brigadier nodded, "Yes, Doctor, Miss Grant was the first." The Doctor wandered over to the window and looked out into the serene woods nearby. Then, he spoke, "Who was next and when, Alastair?" The Brigadier swallowed, "24 hours later, Miss Smith disappeared while in the middle of an interview with a Cabinet Minister, on live television." The Doctor's hearts twisted in pain then. "My Sarah Jane," he mummured to himself. He then looked at the Brigadier, "Who was next?" Alastair was ashen, "It happened 10 hours ago right in front of my eyes, Doctor, Dr Sullivan has vanished as well."

The Doctor turned back to the window, his blue eyes bright. It was the closest he had come to shedding tears since the death of his wife back on Gallifrey. Just then, there was a knock on the door and Sgt Benton's voice spoke, "Sir? There's been another report." The Doctor whirled on one foot and nodded to the Brigadier who opened the door. Sgt Benton came in and saw the Doctor. He nodded and then looked at his commanding officer, holding out a sheet of paper. "This just came in about five minutes ago, Sir, It's from the university." The Doctor's voice was unexpectedly harsh, "Who this time?" The Brigadier looked at the paper. His voice was almost mechanical as he read aloud. "Approximately 20 minutes ago, Professor Ian Chesterton and his wife Barbara vanished from the middle of a University cocktail party. According to eyewitnesses, "One minute they were laughing and talking and the next, they were simply gone."

Before the Doctor could say anything, a wheezing, groaning sound was heard and all three men looked at the other side of the lab in shock as a battered blue police call box materialized with a loud whomp. The man that stepped out was unfamiliar to all three. He was of average height with a slender, wiry build and chestnut curls that touched his shoulders. he was dressed in what the Brigadier would call "Victorian London" but what others would call a river boat gambler. He looked around and his blue eyes widened when he saw Number Four. "Oh dear, this is not good." Number Four replied, "No it isn't but I assume you have a reason for crossing into our past. By the way, which one are you?" The dandy looked at him and smiled, "Number Eight. As to why I'm here, you know why. My former companion, Dr. Grace Holloway has disappeared while in the middle of surgery at San Francisco University Hospital."

The Fourth Doctor smiled sadly, "So, there are eight of me. You know what has happened here?" Eight nodded, "That's why I'm here. When I discovered that Grace had been taken, TARDIS told me about what happened here. This was done with clear intent and I do not believe that whoever is behind this is done yet. I am very much afraid that we will be working with other of our, your future selves before this is over." The Fourth Doctor nodded, "I sadly have to agree with you. Which TARDIS shall we leave in?" Eight smiled, "Yours will be safer here at UNIT HQ, the Brigadier will see to that, won't you, Alastair?" The Brigadier nodded, "Of course, Doctor, I shall see to it myself." The Fourth Doctor nodded and the two stepped into Eight's TARDIS and with a wheezing, groaning sound, it faded from view. The Brigadier sttod there looking at the empty corner. "Good luck, gentlemen." was all he said.

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

Twists and Turns in Time

Part Two

by

Sabrina Lonewalker

When Grace came too, she found herself in a large, lighted room with bunks, tables, chairs and five other people. She noticed immediately that there were no doors she could discern. She then saw a dark haired woman walk over to her. "Are you all right?" She asked in a clipped English voice. "Grace looked down to find herself still in her scrubs with blood still on them. She smiled, "I was in the middle of a heart procedure and the next thing I know, I'm here. What the hell is going on?" A man with curly brown hair and wearing a lab coat over his clothes came to her. "I'm Naval Doctor Harry Sullivan, currently assigned to UNIT HQ London." He held out his hand. Grace shook it, "I'm Doctor Grace Holloway, Cardiac Surgeon at San Francisco University Hospital."

The others introduced themselves, Jo Grant, Ian Chesterton and his wife Barbara and the dark haired woman, Sarah Jane Smith. Grace stepped back, "The Doctor, we all know the Doctor." She said softly. Sarah Jane nodded, "But when did you meet him?" Grace smiled, "You had all better sit down, this is a long story." They did and Grace told them of her encounter with the Eighth incarnation of the Doctor. Once she had finished, the others talked about how each of them met the Doctor over the years. Sarah jane looked at Grace, "You met the Master?" Grace shuddered, "Yes, I did and thankfully, I will never meet him again. He was sucked into the Eye of Harmony conduit in the TARDIS. He's gone for good."

The others who had run into him showed relief on their faces. "Now," Harry spoke up, "The question is who brought us here and why?" The rest nodded in agreement and a general discussion began among them. After a few minutes, Grace got up and walked over to a counter set against on wall that had a sink, a coffee maker and everything needed to make coffee. She also noticed a fully stocked refrigerator and a cook stove. She looked at Sarah Jane who had followed her. "Somebody wants to keep us alive, that's for sure." Grace nodded. Sarah Jane looked at her. "What is it Grace?" Grace stared at the ceiling for a moment. "He asked me to go with him and I said no." Sarah Jane looked surprised. "Why?" Grace smiled gently, "I wanted to go, oh how I wanted to leave everything behind but, people depended on me. I literally held their lives in my hands and I just could not leave them behind. No matter how much I..." Her voice trailed off. Sarah Jane looked at her and smiled, "You love him." Grace laughed, "Yeah, the first time I really, truly fall in love and he's not even human and yet..."

Sarah Jane smiled, a faraway look in her eyes, "I know, he's more human than most of us are." Grace giggled, "That's it, exactly. I miss him. I asked him to stay with me." Sarah Janes eyes widened, "And?" Grace smiled softly, "He said it was tempting but, we both knew he couldn't stay. He comes back once in a while and he always finds me, no matter where I am. He once tracked me down in the Amazon Rainforest when I was working with Doctors without Borders." Sarah jane giggled, "Sounds like him." The two of them made several mugs of coffee and passed them out to their fellow prisoners as they all continued to talk.

In other room in this vast complex, a cloaked and hooded figure was watching a large view screen and listening to every word the companions were saying. They adjusted a control here and a knob there and smiled as a second screen showed the Fourth and Eighth Doctors in Eight's TARDIS. The voice was low, smooth and laced with evil. "Well, well, so, Doctor, one is in love with you. Wonder how I can use that to my advantage?" They continued to watch until a soft chiming started. They activated another screen and saw a tall, brown haired woman with a man in a suit and tie talking to a man wearing a cricket suit. "Ah," the voice said, "Tegan and Thurlough. My next two targets." They adjusted more controls and soon, the two disappeared from right in front of the Fifth Doctor. The Time Lord, needless to say, was stunned.

He started to dash back into his TARDIS when another materialized not far away. As he looked, his previous incarnation stepped out. Four looked at Five. "Get in. You're gilr will be safe here. We need to work togetheron this one. It's larger than you think." Five stepped in, took in the Gothic design and then looked at the man at the console. "Regeneration?" He asked. The man with the chestnut curls smiled, "Seventh". Five smiled, "So, there are eight of us now. What is going on?" Four proceeded to tell him about the other past and future companions that had been removed. Eight looked up from his console. "They haven't just been kidnapped. Whoever has them has literally taken them out of time and space." They all looked at each other in surprise. "Now," Four mused, "Who, besides our people, have that power?" The other two were silent, not wanting to contemplate the possibilities.

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

Twists and Turns in Time

Part Three

by

Sabrina Lonewalker

Five looked at the other two, "I don't like the direction this is going in. Have any other companions disappeared yet?" Eight turned to his console. "Not yet but that means nothing. Whoever or whatever is behind this knows what they're doing and who to pick. But why?" He slammed his fist on the console in frustration, drawing a complaining chirp from TARDIS. He was apologetic, "Sorry old girl." He patted the console in apology, a gesture the other two Doctors understood all too well. Eight took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He was worried about Grace. He was worried about all of them but Grace had captured his hearts in a way the others hadn't. He was hoping she and the others were all right.

The Sixth Doctor and Peri were making their way through what looked like an old English countryside but they were actually in Spain. Peri was asking questions about the Doctor's second incarnation whom they had been thrown together with along with Jamie Mc Crimmon, his companion at the time. He answered her because he knew silence would get him nowhere. They finally arrived back at the TARDIS and went inside. Six walked over to the console and saw a flashing light. He frowned and pressed the button. The main viewscreen lit up showing him Four, Five and one he didn't recognize at first then, it hit him. "What is happening?" He asked, "Why are the three of you together?"

Peri broke into a smile when she saw Five, "Hello Docotr!" He smiled back, "Hello Peri, am I treating you all right?" Peri shrugged, "Now you are." He raised his eyebrows but thought better of asking. He looked at Six, "We have a problem, some of our previous and futire companions have been taken out of time and space and we do not know who or how." Six frowned, "Which ones?" He grew angerier as they told him. "That's all?" Eight nodded, "So far. We have no clue if or when he will grab some others. We're trying to warn those who haven't been affected to be on gurad though frankly..." Four spoke up, "Seeing as we don't know who is behind this, we can not build a defense."

Six nodded, "What about Jamie and Zoe? They would have to be taken out before the Time Lords erased their memories of me." Four spoke again, "Not likely, whoever this is is taking comapnions that have stopped travelling with me, so far. They haven't taken any that we know of that are travelling with our other selves." Six nodded, "No guarantee that they won't." Five nodded, "True. We need to meet somewhere so you can park TARDIS and come with us. We need to be working together to solve this." Four nodded, "Agreed and this started with me. They took Harry, Jo and Sarah Jane." Eight spoke, "Yes, then Ian, Barbara and Grace. Grace was my companion for a short time in 1999." Six nodded, "All right, we'll meet...here." He inputed some coordinates. Eight nodded, "Very well, we'll meet you there shortly." The view screen went off and Six looked at Peri, "Hold on, here we go." He pulled the dematerialization lever and they were away, Peri wondering, not for the first time, whatever had possessed her to come along in the first place.

The TARDIS finally materialized and Six and Peri stepped out to what looked like a desolate landscape. There was another TARDIS there and Eight stepped out of it. Peri's eyebrows rose as she looked at Six, "That's going to be you?" She asked. "Yes," said six in a huff, "Seems I'm going to turn into a dandy. No color sense at all." Eight smiled, "Look who's talking. You look like you were in a paint factory when it exploded." Peri giggled and was rewarded with Eight's familiar, warm smile. Six locked his TARDIS and looked narrowly at Peri, "Come along, Peri." She nodded and followed him into Eight's TARDIS and looked around at the Gothic interior then, she heard a familiar voice, "Hello Peri." She tunred and ran over to hug Five. "It's good to see you again, Doctor." Five smiled down at her, "Good to see you too. he treating you ok?" Peri nodded, "Now yes but right after you regenerated into him he was really off the wall, it was scary."

Five nodded, "I think I know why. After we escaped the caves on Androzani, I gave you the antidote but there wasn't enough for me so, I had to regenerate. I think the poison had not fully left my system when the regeneration finished and was still metabolizing, leaving my Sixth self acting strangely. I'm sorry you had to go through that." Peri smiled, "It's ok now, he's almost back to normal, whatever that is." Five laughed then joined the other Doctors at the control console. The problem was that they were still in the dark but things about to change in a big way and finally, their way would become a little clearer.

Grace, Sarah Jane and the others were sitting around a table eating and talking about their various Doctors when there was a bright flash of light and someone else was on the floor unconscious. Grace got to the woman first and knelt beside her. The woman was petite and had longish brown hair. She opened her eyes slowly and Grace smiled at her, "It's all right. You're safe here, wherever here is." She helped the woman to her feet. Teagan came over to help and her eyes widened, "Nyssa?" Nyssa looked up, "Tegan! Is Thurlough here too?" The quiet, bronw haired man came over with a smile, "Yeah, right here." The three friends hugged then Nyssa started asking questions. Unfortunately, none of the companions could tell her where they were or why only that they all had a connection to the Doctor.

In the control room of the complex they were in, the Mystery figure was zeroing in on his next target. He watched his screen and saw a woman with flame red hair heading for her car to go to work. He smiled evilly as he activated the transmat but something happened. The beam could not lock onto it's target. The woman got into her car and drove away leaving the Collector speechless for a few moments. Then, he began looking over the controls. The machinery was working fine. He sat back wondering what went wrong. How was he able to lock onto the others yet this one, also a former companion, he couldn't bring here. he began looking over everything, knowing he must have missed something but he couldn't find out what it was. He sat back, seething in frustration.

In another TARDIS, travelling through the vortex, a tall, lanky man with brown hair wearing a blue pinstrip suit, a tie and red Converse trainers was alone staring at the console. A lot had happened in the past few months. The Daleks, Davros, leaving Rose in the Beta Universe with his twin, what he had to do to save Donna. It still rankled him but, it was over and done now and he was alone. Then, a light that normally never flashed on the console was signalling him. He raised his eyebrows in surprise and pushed the button that went with it. A set of coordinates was displayed on the monitor screen with the messgae, "Need to see you, can you come, now?" It was signed Jack Harkness.

TBC


	4. Chapter 4

Twists and Turns in Time

Part Four

by

Sabrina Lonewalker

The Doctor's eyebrows climbed into his hairline. "Jack?" He said out loud. The last time he had seen Captain Jack Harkness was in the TARDIS after the business with Davros and the Crucible. Now, Jack was calling him. He knew it had to be important so, he set the console to the coordinates Jack had sent to him and the TARDIS headed off. A few minutes later, the blue box materialized and the Doctor cautiously stepped out to find Jack waiting. "I was wondering if you got my message. Something really strange is happening, Doc." The Doctor looked at him and Jack motioned for him to follow him.

The Doctor followed him into the main control center where a large screen was set up. Jack, Gwen and Ianto were going over some readouts and Jack looked up. "It started about four days ago. Some of your former companions have been lifted from time and space and we don't know how it happened." The Doctor stepped back, "Lifted out of time and space? Which ones?" As the names scrolled on the screen the look on the Tenth Doctor's face was one of shock and sadness. "You have no idea as to who or why?" Jack shook his head, "No, we don't. There's something else, some of your past incarnations are working together to solve this." The Doctor walked over to the console Jack was working from. "Do you know which ones?"

Jack nodded, "Yeah, Numbers Four, Five, Six and Eight." The Doctor looked at the readout. Jack continued, "They all seem to be in one TARDIS, I'm figuring Eight's since Four's is at UNIT HQ in his timeline." The tenth Doctor nodded, "It would make sense to leave the others in secure places in order to work together." Jack smiled. "We may have hit on something. Gwen picked up a transmat signal yesterday morning around 9:00 am. We traced it and we know who it was after but, for some strange reason, it was not able to lock onto it's target and it disappeared." The Doctor looked at him, "Who was the target?" Jack grinned again, "Donna Noble."

The Doctor's eyes flew open wide. "Donna? But, I had to wipe her mind, remove all of her memories of me or the Meta Crisis would have killed her." He paced around the room in a fashion familiar to Jack then, he stopped dead still. "That's why this person hasn't been able to snatch Zoe or Jamie either, he's locking onto memories of me in their minds, that's how he's taking them!" Jack looked at him, "Then, this person could take me, Gwen..." His voice trailed off. "True but, you were never, strictly speaking, a companion. Thank God, Rose is safe. Jack, can you patch me through to Eight's TARDIS?"

Jack nodded and soon, Eight saw the view screen flicker and a man's face appeared. They looked at each other for a few seconds and Eight smiled, "Which are you?" Ten smiled, "I'm number Ten." The other Doctors smiled then, Ten continued. "I'm with some friends and we've figured out how, if not who." The Four Doctors looked at the screen as he explained about Donna Noble and what he had to do to save her. "Whoever is doing this is locking onto our companions memories of us, that's how he was about to locate and transmat them away. Donna has no memories of me so he couldn't lock onto her. That's why he hasn't taken Jamie or Zoe." Four nodded, "Makes sense but, how do we find him?" Ten smiled, "Where can we meet up? We need to be together to do this." Eight smiled, "Where are you?"

Ten sighed, "Torchwood Hub in Cardiff, Wales. My TARDIS is parked nearby. Use her signal and it will lead you here." Eight nodded, "Got it, we'll be there shortly." The screen went to black and Jack looked at him, "Four of your previous selves are coming here?" Ten nodded, "We need to work together to solve this and I need them, their strength, their disciplines." He was quiet. "Jack, does Torchwood have a transmat?" Gwen Cooper spoke up, "Yes, we do." Ten looked hopeful, "Is it multi capacity or one at a time?" Jack smiled, "It can handle five at a time, that's it." Ten frowned, "According to what you've told me, a total of ten companions were taken. How fast is the turn around on that transmat?" Jack sighed, "That's the trouble, if we transmat five at one time, it takes ten minutes to recharge." Ten frowned, "Yes, that is a problem unless..."

He was interrupted by a familiar wheezing, groaning sound as a blue police call box materialized not too far away from Ten's. As Jack, Gwen and Ianto watched in disbelief, four men stepped out of the TARDIS along with one brown haired young woman. Ten's eyes lit up on seeing her, "Peri! How good to see you again!" Peri looked shocked and looked up at Six, "That's you?" Six was equally surprised, "It looks like it is. Heaven's the changes I've gone through." Peri couldn't help it, she giggled and was rewarded with ten's warm smile. Ten looked at her, "At least you're safe, he didn't get you." Peri looked confused then her face cleared, remembering what the other Doctors had been talking about.

Ten looked at the others, "We have to end this and find out what this collector wants with us." The other Doctors nodded and all of them turned to Jack who stepped back from his console without a word said. They went to work, each taking on a different task and yet, moving as smoothly as if they were one which, of course, they were. Peri walked over to Jack, "Have you ever seen anything like this before?" Jack shook his head, "No but then, I've only met Nine and ten before this. Wonder what Nine is doing now?" Peri had no reply to this and went back to watching the five Doctors around the console.

The five Doctors went still for a few moments and seemed to be communicating silently with each other when Eight opened his eyes, their blueness shining like a sapphire. "Of course, we can find them in reverse. Locking onto their memories will guide us to where they are." The other four Doctors nodded in agreement and headed back to Eight's TARDIS when Ten stopped, "Jack, you want to come and help?" Jack reached for his duster with a grin and headed into the TARDIS. After a few seconds, it was gone. They were on their way to finish this.

TBC


End file.
